CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — For the first time in school history, the Waterloo Gibault Catholic Hawks are Illinois basketball state champions.
The Hawks rode a hot second half on Saturday to beat Scales Mound 65 to 45 and capture the Illinois 1A state title at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
In his 43rd season at the helm of the Hawks, head coach Dennis Rueter is a state champion for the first time. Rueter has close to 800 career wins at Gibault and led the team to a second-place finish back in 1999.
This year's Hawks got into the the final four thanks to a wild buzzer-beater from senior Kameron Hanvey to beat Illini Bluffs and win their super sectional.
The state title caps off a successful championship season for the metro east. East St. Louis captured third place at Class 3A on Friday, while Okawville, Mater Dei and O'Fallon all won titles on the girls side.